I have read many things about this film. It was directed by star Marlon Brando and cost around 6,000,000 dollars to make which was a lot back then. Especially since the beginning budget was 1,000,000. Anyway, it is a long revenge western filmed on the Monterey coast of California. You might say it isone of the first allegorical adult type westerns with political or social messages or commentaries beneeth it. It originally had a run time of 5 hours! The script originally came from Sam Peckinpah. I have not seen this yet but I thought it would garner some extremely opposite reviews. Starring Marlon Brando and Karl Malden.

Brando directing himself, hahaha. If you like looking at the man for the sake of looking at him, this is the movie for you. A lot of bullshit vanity shots that result into an overlong film. The film itself is not bad, but it sure as hell ain’t great. Brando never directed anything again.

I don’t really like the film either. Very jumbled script. Lots of loose ends remain untied. No action, and Brando’s character is not very likeable. Don’t really like the “submissive senorita falling in love with the white man within seconds of meeting him” theme either.

I like this one quite a lot. But as is usual with me, I like it for it’s oddities not it’s excellence.
I’m a sucker for any western that has a beach location (must be the Californian in me).
But I simply can’t imagine what the “cut” scenes must have been like to add up to 3 or more hours extra.
I love the opening bank robbery with the banana peel on the scales of justice and I enjoy what a sleazebag Marlon is with the ladies. He is the “spiritual” father of Spaghettidom’s John the Bastard.

Col. Douglas Mortimer:

Don’t really like the “submissive senorita falling in love with the white man within seconds of meeting him” theme either.

Haha. Col, you just described my fantasy life. Well, maybe not falling in love exactly…

I don’t know, folks…
I have to confess that this is one of my all-time favorite Westerns of any kind.
Every time I see it, I like it even more.
I don’t agree that the film is a vanity showcase for Brando. Even though he is the central figure in the tale he is often upstaged, in my opinion, by several of the great cast members. In particular Ben Johnson and Slim Pickens are great. Karl Malden, Katy Jurado, and Larry Duran are other notables.

The movie is based on a novel by Charles Neider called “The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones” (which was a reworking of the story of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid). Surprisingly, after so many different people worked on the script, the movie still holds close to the original book.

I am not so sure that Peckinpah wrote a script for this, by the way. For one thing, he never claimed this himself and it seems like he would have. For another, when LQ Jones and I talked about this movie, LQ told me it was one of Sam’s favorites. I told LQ that I was sure Sam liked the movie seeing as how he was supposed to have written an early version of the script…and LQ looked at me and said, “I never heard that. Sam never said anything about that, but he did say he liked the movie”.

However, there is some compelling evidence from Paramount archives showing where a treatment (not a script!), by Peckinpah, based on Neider’s book was turned in, and ultimately rejected. Before that Rod Serling apparently worked on this project as a writer, as well!
Anyway…there were a lot of people that worked on the script for this movie; so, who really knows what was kept for version to version.

Well…
I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent there! Sorry, amigos y amigas!
I just wanted to say that I really, really like ONE EYED JACKS.

Okay, he didn’t say the entire film was bullsh***, but the important thing is that he didn’t like it.

As is his prerogative. We all have our own opinions.

Mine is mixed on this film. I need to see it again but the important thing is that it certainly merits repeated viewings. My main memories of it are Brando’s languid performance, some beautifully composed shots, the brutality of some scenes and Karl Malden’s bad-ass turn as Dad (very reminiscent of his role in Nevada Smith).

I don’t agree that the film is a vanity showcase for Brando. Even though he is the central figure in the tale he is often upstaged, in my opinion, by several of the great cast members. In particular Ben Johnson and Slim Pickens are great. Karl Malden, Katy Jurado, and Larry Duran are other notables.

Hear hear. Great cast.

Chris, like Starblack, I’m jealous. But not just of WHO you know but of HOW MUCH you know…